Pregnancy Update #2: Weeks 32-36

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! Ours was great! The countdown is on until this little boy makes his arrival. Any guesses? Time for another update!

Wow I can't believe we are so close to meeting our little boy. There might be one more update if I get a chance before 40 weeks. I went into labor with Kinley at 39 weeks so we shall see. I really have a lot of emotion as this pregnancy is getting down to the end. I have talked about it too much but this will most likely be our last one. It is truly bittersweet! The end of pregnancy is so hard but I will say this time was much better than when I was pregnant with Kinley. Though I am soaking up all the last days with this sweet girl as an only child. I wrote a letter to her a little while back if you want to read it.

Here are the other updates:

Weeks 29-31

Weeks 26-28

Weeks 21-25

Weeks 17-20

Weeks 15 & 16 

Announcement

I think we are about 95% done with his nursery...FINALLY. After our shower I really started to get things together with getting his nursery done. I can't wait to share some pictures after he is born. We just need a handful of things and we are all set! 

There has been a ton of development these past few weeks so it is hard to clump it all together so I will give the most recent things he is up to at week 36. 

• He is running out of room and his movements are getting a little painful. He weighs roughly 6 pounds and is about 19 inches long. He will gain a little more in these last few weeks. Kinley was 8lbs1oz at 39w1d. We will have an ultrasound to check on his size in about a week.

• His kidneys are now fully developed and his liver can process waste products. 

• His bones and cartilage will stay soft for an easier exit through the birth canal. 

What is going on with me these past few weeks. Along with him a lot of things have changed as we are approaching the end. 

How Far Along: 36 weeks 5 days. As of my appointment last Friday I was measuring right at 36 weeks. Great news! 

Total Weight Gain: As of Friday I am up 24 pounds. Still less than Kinley but I feel I have packed on the pounds these last few weeks. Dang cravings of sweets. 

Best Moments: Like I said there has been so much that has gone on these past few weeks. I had a wonderful shower with some great friends and family and then my work threw me and another girl a shower. The cake was so cute! We had a family trip to Great Wolf Lodge and had a blast. Kinley got her Easter pics taken and LOVED the duck. No surprise there. She is an animal lover. We also had our maternity pictures done and they are AMAZING!!! I am so excited to get the rest of them back and share them. 

Miss Anything: Sleeping through the night without getting up to pee 10  100 times. I don't think that is an exaggeration either. I pee about every 1-2 hours. I also miss being able sit comfortably and being able to get out of chairs without using all my energy. My hips still hurt but I have started going to the chiropractor which has helped a lot. 

Gender: It's a BOY! I mentioned at the last update that they were going to do an ultrasound at 37 weeks to check his size. They didn't have any openings so we will be having one at 37 weeks 6 days. 

Symptoms: Constant peeing and hip pain seem to about sum it up. My back has started to hurt but it isn't everyday. Sitting at work for 10 hour shifts tends to aggravate it so I try to stand when I can or sit on a yoga ball. I have had some bouts of nausea again which is not fun! I am starting to swell in my hands so just the other day I took off my rings because they were starting to hurt. This makes me very sad! 

Mood: Still for the most part happy, though I can tell my patience has been wearing thin. I am exhausted all the time so it is hard to remain calm at all times. Even with her 2 year old tantrums this little girl is the best thing! 

Looking Forward To: To be honest I am looking forward to the end. Like I said it is bittersweet for many reasons. I am very sad about it not just being Kinley and I, though very excited to met our little man. I am also excited to have our ultrasound in a week and a half. I still need to pack our hospital bags and install the car seat. 

We have had a very busy few weeks the past month or so and I am sure the next few weeks are going to be super busy as well. I can't wait to share our maternity pics with you all. Hope you all are having a great Monday!

Baby Brooks Sprinkle

We had a really busy weekend and overall things have just been super busy these past few weeks. We have a lot going on this month so I am sure it will fly by! Then we are in April which means BABY MONTH!

Over the weekend my wonderful friend threw me a baby sprinkle for baby brooks. It was a book theme and all the decorations were adorable.

It was wonderful and we are so lucky he is so loved by so many already. We are truly blessed with amazing friends and family. Thank you to everyone who came out and celebrated with us! I can't believe in just about 6 weeks he will be joining our lives! I will try not fill this post with too many pictures but I can't promise :)

The food table was amazing! There was so many options and each food item was matched with a book. So creative!

My mother in law made this awesome boat. It is a diaper cake so many uses for this boat! I love it! 

We played a game where we had to figure out the children's book from a line in the book. It was hard!! Needless to say I did not do well. Baby boy got many stylin clothes that we can't wait to put him in. Slowly we are making progress to being ready for his arrival. It is normal to not be ready until the end with baby #2 right? I think I am still in shock we are having a boy. It just seems so weird to me. 

We had such a wonderful time at the baby sprinkle. I loved the party favors! Too cute! 

After our sprinkle Matt and I were able to get out for a date night with some friends. We ended up at Cheesecake Factory which is one of my favorite places. The food is so yummy and you can't go wrong with the cheesecake! I decided on the Salted Carmel Cheesecake and it did not disappoint!

Hope everyone had as good of a weekend as we did! Thank you again for all that came out and celebrated our baby boy! 

Pregnancy Update #2: Weeks 29-31

Are we really down to single digit weeks? Kinley was a week early so in reality we could only have 8 weeks left. I am not holding my breath on that and am going to attempt to be as patient as possible when we get towards the end because I do know that 40 weeks is ideal. Remind me that when I am 36 weeks and hoping the next month flies by :)

We have officially decided on a name and have begun hanging things in the nursery. Finally! Here is what baby boy has been up to the last few weeks.

• Baby Brooks is weighing in at about 3 pounds and measuring 18 inches long. He will pack on another 3- 5 pounds before he is born though, so lots of growing still. 

• He is now perceiving signals from all 5 senses

• His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature and his head is growing bigger. I can definitely feel his stronger kicks as he gets stronger. 

What is going on with me the past few weeks: Kinley wanted in on the weekly bump picture.

How far along: 31 weeks 3 days. I did a comparison shot last time with Kinley and I just love them. Hello no tan! We had a great 31 week appointment and everything is on track. I am measuring 31 weeks and my weight gain is great.

Total Weight Gain: As of my appointment yesterday I am up 16 pounds. I should be gaining about a pound a week at this point, which I am on track for that! 

Best Moments of the Past few Weeks: Of course the Bronco's winning the Super Bowl. Kinley was all about the Broncos. It is so cute; she scrolls through my pictures and makes sure to point out the Bronco shirt we are all wearing. Starting on the nursery has also been exciting. I feel we have so much to do still but then really think about it and we would really be ok if he came. 

Miss Anything: I think I have to say sleep again. It has been getting worse as I progress more. I guess that is how it goes though. My hips continue to really hurt at night so there is a lot of tossing and turning. Kinley was up coughing the other night, ALL night so none of us slept. 

Gender: It is still a BOY! I confirmed we will have another ultrasound at 37 weeks to look at his size. If I am being honest about that ultrasound I am not thrilled they are doing another one. Ultrasounds can be off and I don't want them trying to get me to schedule a c section. I am not going to stress about it though, because it would mean nothing more than we get to see our baby boy! 

Symptoms:  I don't really have any new symptoms. Overall I feel pretty decent still. What a change from being pregnant with Kinley. Like I said my hips hurt and the insomnia sucks but I am trucking along. 

Mood: Still pretty happy! I do tend to have a little less patience with Matt at times. He was trying to explain something to me about the taxes and I was going crazy because he wasn't hearing what I was saying. I was getting super frustrated. 

Looking Forward to: My shower! It is only 2 weeks away! I probably won't do another update until after the shower. Then the following weekend we are going to Great Wolf Lodge for a night. I am really excited about that too! We wanted to do something special with Kinley before he arrives and all of our worlds are rocked. We also have maternity pictures coming up too! I need to find outfits for everyone!

I have really been soaking up this time I have left with Kinley! We have had some great days! She has been more clingy to me lately and I am ok with that! I actually am really loving it! She usually isn't all about mommy so it is a nice change! 

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! It is suppose to be a beautiful one here! 

Pregnancy #2 Update: Weeks 26-28

Pregnancy #2 Weeks 26-28

We are officially in the 3rd trimester! Where is this pregnancy going and how is my due date only 12 weeks away. We have had a few things happen these past 2 weeks which thankfully have all been good!

Here is what baby boy has been up to the last few weeks. I am 28 weeks 3 days as of today.

• He is sleeping and waking at regular intervals. He is definitely more active at certain times. Last night before we went to bed he was doing many flips. Matt actually got to feel him a lot! 

• He may be able to see light that filters in through the womb

• He weighs about 2 - 2.5 pounds now. The last ultrasound we had was at 26 weeks 5 days and he was 1lb 15oz so I am sure he has gained since then.

• He is growing more hair and at this point it has a color to it. We often talk about whether he will be a red head like his sister. I think no. 

• He is breathing small amounts of amniotic fluid which is helping him practice his breaths for outside the womb. He also gets the hiccups frequently so I know he is practicing his breathing. 

What is going on with me the past few weeks. 

How Far Along: 28 weeks 3 days. I love the comparison shots. I think I am a tad smaller with him and carrying him a little lower.

Total Weight Gain: As of my appointment on Friday I am up 13 pounds. I had quite a jump in the past few weeks so I am hoping to level out again and stay around the average weight gain for the pregnancy, I should probably stop eating all the cookies. 

Best Moments of the Past Few Weeks: Finding out little man's heart is ok! We had an echo done at the high risk and the tech said every thing looked great and there were no concerns. Wow was that some uplifting news. We also found out I passed my glucose test which I am SO excited about because I had gestational diabetes with Kinley and it was not fun! So needless to say we have had a great few weeks. 

Miss Anything: Sleep! These past few weeks sleep has been more difficult. My hips hurt more so I toss and turn a lot. I am also up a lot peeing! This cutie has been struggling with sleep too so that is not helping my exhaustion, but that is nothing new to us.

Gender: BOY! I can't wait to see what he looks like! My dr said they will do one more ultrasound at 37 weeks to check his size. 

Symptoms: My hips are really starting to hurt more. I have been trying to get the yoga video done more often but finding the time these days is really hard. A few ladies in my mom group mentioned seeing a chiropractor so I might look into that as well. I have been trying to sit on a exercise ball at work to see if that will help. 

Mood: I think I am overall pretty happy. I had a pretty rough day at work last week and that made for some emotions, but things are better now and I am back to myself again. It is unbelievable to me how much better I feel this go round. 

Looking Forward to: Getting my shower invite! My friend Chelsea has put so much work into my shower and I know nothing. I can not wait to see the invite! I can't believe that is in 5 weeks and in 6 weeks we will be doing maternity pictures. In the last update I was looking forward to his kicks getting stronger. Well they definitely have. The other night he was having a party and going crazy. Matt really got to feel him from the outside. I even was able to see some movement from the outside. It has been much different having an anterior placenta this time. We are finally starting on the nursery too!

Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday! 

Friday's Randomness

I love sitting here and watching the snow fall. I wish it would snow a lot here and we could actually enjoy it! So much different from being from Colorado and literally living in the snow. We get a dusting here and the schools close a few hours early. Cracks me up! But in all honesty people can't drive in it so I guess that is the safest. Kinley was loving the snow!

We had a great check up on baby boy this week. We had our echo done at Maternal Fetal Medicine and everything was perfect! I can't tell you how relieved we are! That was a very stressful couple of weeks. He was estimated to be 1lb 15oz and growing perfectly. There were no concerns with his heart so the last scare must have been a shadow. Thank goodness! I can't believe we have 13 short weeks left before we will be adding him to the mix. I have to admit I am a little nervous about it all but I know that it will work out!

Thursday I had to go to the dentist to get some things fixed on my teeth. I hate going but have learned my lesson to now go on a consistent basis. Even though I go consistently and take great care of my teeth there is always something wrong with them. It is so frustrating! It might have been the roughest 2 hours of my week. It was so horrible sitting back in the chair that long trying to keep my mouth open for what seemed like endless hours. Do you know how hard that is! On top of that my mouth is KILLING me today. Then I had to go do my glucose test this morning! I had the fruit punch this time and it wasn't horrible tasting it was horrible not being able to really eat anything for breakfast. Fingers crossed I pass because I had gestational diabetes with Kinley and it wasn't fun!

We finally went and picked out some paint samples for little boys' room. We aren't painting the whole room, just an accent wall. The rest of the walls are a tan color. I am so excited to get things started in there. I have a lot of ideas floating through my mind and have pinned random pins to put together. We didn't go elaborate on Kinley's nursery but I loved how simple it was. I have a few more ideas that I would like to do with his but part of me feels a little guilt that I want to put more into his room than we did to hers. Does that make sense? Is that normal? I just want to be fair to them! We have picked out some decor and I am very excited to see it all come together. Stay tuned for nursery pictures as it all comes together!

 

Pregnancy #2 Update - Weeks 21-25

Pregnancy #2 weeks 21-25 Update

It has been a few weeks since I have done a baby boy update. Yes you read that right baby boy! Since the last one we have found out many things. I look back at the last post and laugh because it is titled Update Baby Girl #2. If you have been reading you know that has changed! We are not expecting a girl like we thought, but it is a BOY. You can read about that here. We confirmed Friday he is in fact a he! We are very excited about that and can begin to focus on the nursery.

Here is what baby boy has been up to the last few weeks. As of today I am 25 weeks 3 days.

• Little man has definitely had a growth spurt since the last update. The ultrasound tech said he is about 1 pound 12 oz right now. She said that was the 57th percentile. 

• His lungs are developing surfactant that will help them expand after birth. His nostrils are also opening to help him breath.

• His bones are becoming solid and his hands are fully developed, he can make a fist and grasp objects.

• He can hear sounds outside the womb and the brain cells are starting to mature. This is exciting to me since we read to Kinley often and it is fun to know he can hear us now. 

What is going on with me: 

Sleep: Honestly it hasn't been that horrible. Not too much has changed and I still wake up multiple times a night to pee but at least I am able to fall asleep at night. When I was pregnant with Kinley I had the worst insomnia and there were many nights I would go sit on the couch and cry because I couldn't sleep. Kinley is still ending up in our bed anywhere from 3-5am but honestly we are all sleeping and she sleeps in when she is with us. So right now it is what it is and I am going to stop stressing about it. Well at least try :). She recently cut 2 molars so that resulted in some sleepless nights, but I am hoping we are back on the mend. 

How Far Along: 25 weeks 3 days and feeling more movement each day. Nothing like a good old bathroom selfie to mark 25 weeks.

Total Weight Gain: As of my appointment Friday I have gained 7 pounds. This is shocking to me! At 26 weeks with Kinley I was up 20 pounds. Not sure if it is due to me chasing a toddler this time or just different eating habits. I can't really say I have been eating the healthiest this time though to be honest. The other day I ate a donut and an apple fritter...don't judge :). I blame it on my husband since he brought me both. They had to be eaten. Little man seems to be growing perfectly so I am happy with my minimal weight gain at this point. It is amazing how all pregnancies are different. 

Best Moment of the Past Few Weeks: We had a great past few weeks. My mom spent the holidays with us, which was amazing! We got Kinley a toddler bed that she loves! That was 100% not planned!! And despite not receiving the best news Friday at the ultrasound, seeing little man is always a blessing!

Miss Anything: Hmmmm. I do miss being able to enjoy a glass of wine but honestly I think that is about it right now. Overall I am feeling pretty great! So much different from when I was pregnant with Kinley. 

Cravings: Sweets, sweets and more sweets. I am really trying to tone this down a little. I crave them all the time! I have my glucose test coming up in 2 weeks and I really hope I pass this time. I had gestational diabetes with Kinley. I got to take my glucose test home with me! I am so excited about this! I have to drink it an hour before my appointment and then I just go and get my blood drawn. How amazing is that!! 

Gender: It's a BOY!!! We are so excited to finally believe we will be having a little boy Brooksie :). If you really look at the picture that is his leg/foot covering his other eye. He was seriously a pretzel in there the other day.

Symptoms: My hips are really starting to bother me. I have found a good yoga video with some stretches in it that really seem to help. I just need to find the time to do it more often. I have a little lower back pain but nothing major at this point. I sit all day for work, so I really try to walk as much as possible. Of course the constant peeing hasn't changed and I am sure not going to get any better anytime soon as he grows!  

Mood: I am for the most part happy. I do have my grumpy moments, but hey don't we all! I love so much sharing this moment with Kinley. She talks about her brother all the time. It is the cutest and melts my heart! 

Looking Forward to: This might sound weird but I am looking forward to hearing from high risk and getting this echo set up. It will give us many more answers and I can at least have some questions answered. I am also looking forward to seeing him move on the outside. His kicks are getting stronger but we haven't seen him move on the outside yet. Matt has only felt him move a handful of times as well, and I can't wait for Kinley to feel him. With my anterior placenta it makes feeling his kicks more difficult. I am also really looking forward to getting his nursery done. We have started getting things but need to go pick out some paint. I love the nursery decor we have bought already so I am sharing it again :)

That is it for this update folks! It was a long one so if you are still reading thank you! I hope everyone has a great rest of their weekend! Do you see that cute little nose of his. I am so in love! 

Pregnancy Can be Frightening

From the second you think about having a baby it is scary. There are so many things that can go wrong and in the end everyone wants a healthy baby. Then you get pregnant and the waiting for the first appointment to confirm the pregnancy is the worst, since they usually don't see you until you are 8-10 weeks along. And if you are like me I peed on a stick the first chance I got and found out we were pregnant at around 3 weeks 5 days. That is a long time to wait!! Then you get the first ultrasound and hopefully get the news the baby is healthy with a strong heartbeat and they say we will see you in 4 weeks. What are you serious, 4 more weeks! The waiting in between appointments is hard, but you have to just believe in your body and know the baby is healthy. Easier said than done, trust me! Then you hit 20 weeks and they do the big anatomy scan to make sure the baby is growing and all his/her organs look healthy. It is frightening I tell you.

The worrying continues until birth and you hear that first cry. Though it doesn't end there. Being a mother is full of constant worrying I think. My point is, there is always something to worry about and being pregnant is a scary, but beautiful miracle. I still look at my daughter with amazement as to how we made her and she grew inside of me. It is truly a blessing and unbelievable.

The thing that gets me through the scariness is knowing that God will never give us more than we can handle and we will always be surrounded by amazing friends and family. I truly believe this and I also believe everything happens for a reason. Sometimes it is hard to see that initially and understand why but behind it all there is a reason.

Anyways...on to our ultrasound today.

We had our repeat ultrasound today to get pictures of little man's heart. He was laying funny last time and the tech couldn't see to get the right pictures. He was still laying with his feet above his head and breech, making things more difficult.

The first thing I asked was to confirm it was a boy due to our shocking news last time we had the ultrasound. She confirmed he was a he and showed us again. I think my husband now believes he is a he and we will be expecting a boy :). I am glad to have confirmed it again. Now I can feel more comfortable about buying boy things and really getting things going in his nursery.

The ultrasound took about 45 minutes just to get what we needed for his heart. She also did a quick growth scan to make sure he was measuring well. We were almost done and she said there was a little concern. On one of the views it looked as though there was a small hole in his heart. She said she wasn't 100% if it was a hole or a shadow due to how he was laying. Either way that is not something you want to hear. She said she wanted to be safe and get us scheduled with high risk so we can have an echo done.

We are trying not to stress ourselves out, because lets be honest, we don't know for certain and there is nothing we can do right now anyways. So we will wait for high risk to call us and schedule the echo and pray for the best. It sure is a lot easier said than done when the tech tells you your child could have a hole in his heart.

Please keep us in your thoughts! Hopefully we will get this scheduled soon, though they said it could take up to a week to hear back.

I know it has been awhile since I have done a full pregnancy update. I will post an update for weeks 20-25 on the blog this weekend. For now here is a sneak peak at a few of the things we have purchased for the nursery.

Our Year in Review

Well this isn't too late :). We are still technically in the first week of the month. We had a pretty amazing year in 2015 and are definitely excited about what 2016 is going to bring us. For now though...our 2015 review.

January

We enjoyed a quiet new years day in as a family.

Kinley went to her first gym class at the Little Gym. She definitely loved it but to be honest it was a little expensive in my opinion for a one year old.

February

We had quite a few fun snow days in February which gave us some much needed family time. We baked home made cookies and Kinley enjoyed eating all the chocolate chips. This was her first taste of sweets. She was a fan!

My mom came and as always we had such a blast! Of course it was too short but we look forward to her coming again soon when baby boy arrives.

Kinley had strep again (and our nanny quit) which was not exciting, but I do love all the cuddles! I know someday she is going to not want to snuggle with me.

March

Matt and I enjoyed a wonderful date night which does not happen often enough. That is one of my goals for the new year to have more dates!

Kinley started daycare at an in home that we LOVE! We are so thankful for Ms. E after having such struggles with a nanny. I truly believe everything happens for a reason and this was a huge blessing to us.

Kinley had her first swimming experience. What a blast! She loved it!!

I celebrated turning 33 with my two favorite people and it could not have been better! I also started a new job that I really enjoy.

April 

April was defintiely bittersweet for me. I stopped breastfeeding Kinley. After starting my new job it was just teh right timing. I still miss it and am very excited to breastfeed this baby boy. Kinley and I had quite the journey.

We celebrated a great Easter with Matt's family. His grandparents came to visit later in April which we always enjoy as well.

Kinley enjoyed her first carnival. She rode the train and went down the big slide with mommy.

May

We had our first zoo trip and ended up buying season passes. Kinley loves animals and we knew we would get back often. We didn't get as much as we liked but hopefully a few more times before baby boy comes.

Kinley and I traveled to Colorado for my sister's wedding shower. We had a great time spending some time at my nephew's baseball games and hanging out with family.

We took Kinley strawberry picking for the second year in a row and she was all about it this year. She picked the berries right off and ate away. Good thing I brought a spray bottle to clean them :).

June

Kinley went to the beach for the first real time. She has been before but not where she could get in the water and enjoy it. She did not want to leave.

We all traveled back to Colorado for my sister's wedding. I was the matron of honor and Kinley was the flower girl. She did amazing and we all had a fantastic time. Here are some tips for traveling with a toddler.

We got back from Colorado and Matt and I enjoyed an adult wedding of our two friends Chelsea and Tony. It was a much needed night out.

Matt celebrated his last father's day to an only child. Little did he know :).

July

I wrote one of my most popular posts. 3 car seat myths busted. If you have been following me for a while or know me you know car seat safety is a passion of mine.

Had some beach family pictures done by the amazing Lori Woodhouse Photography. I was quite frustrated with the windy evening we had but of course we ended up with some priceless memories.

We took a road trip up to Baltimore to see a wonderful friend of mine, Erin. Kinley and Bodie are only a few months apart and are the cutest when they are together. We don't get to see them often but we try for at least once a year.

Kinley graduated from her first story time class at the library. She was so proud.

I really started to embrace life as a working mom around this time. It is hard work but over all very rewarding for me. I hope the rest of us working moms will learn to embrace their role too.

August

Another beach trip in the books. This time we headed down to the Outer Banks where my step mom and her family were. I wish we could've stayed longer. Hoping they make another trip this year.

Kinley enjoyed her first ice cream eating experience.

Kinley got strep yet again. But this time it really made me thankful for the midnight screams. It is so sad when your children are sick.

September

The big announcement. Kinley is going to be a BIG SISTER!! We could not be more excited for our family.

Deciding on some must haves for baby #2 and letting go of the mommy guilt.

October

We closed on our first house as a married couple. We owned the townhouse, still do, but did not purchase that together. This house is ours and couldn't be more special.

Matt and I celebrated 4 wonderful years of marriage. It has been the best.

Kinley went trick or treating for real for the first year and jumped in many piles of leaves. We also had a blast at the pumpkin patch this year.

November

We celebrated another friend's beautiful wedding. Yay for another date!

Kinley turned 2!!! Wow time flies! I also took that time to reflect back on her, my first born, and how much I love her.

Had some more amazing family photos done. I was sure this time we were not getting any good ones. Kinley threw up on the way there and the entire shoot she fussed and clinged to me! Come to find out the poor girl had an ear infection. BUT....of course there were some amazing photos.

December

We did a few family holiday activities, looking at lights and making cookies were the highlights. We also found out that our baby girl was really a baby boy. Boy what a shocker!

Celebrated an amazing holiday with my mom here and Matt's family. My dad and step mom were even able to come visit for a day.

We ended the year on the couch with a movie and in bed by 10pm. Exciting life we lead I tell you, but I wouldn't change it for the world! Goodbye 2015!

We are so exited to see what 2016 brings us and our family! We know one thing is for sure we will be adding an amazing boy to our family.